March 2014 Issue of Linux Journal: 20 Years of Linux Journal

Personally, I thought it was strange for everyone to make a big deal about
such an arbitrary number of days. Then I was told it was the years that
were of particular note (20 of them, to be exact), and suddenly thought it
seemed insignificant. I mean, 7,305 is a much bigger number! Then people
rolled their eyes and left the room.

We're excited for our 20th year! And to celebrate, we figured we'd give you
a month of Linux-related information, up-to-date news, fun articles and
boat loads of tips. It's been our thing for 20 years, and it seemed like a silly
time to stop! Reuven M. Lerner kicks off this System Administrator-focused
issue with togetherness. Specifically, togetherness supported by
TogetherJS. With TogetherJS, you can add real-time collaboration to your
Web apps. If you need to write apps that allow remote individuals to
collaborate on particular projects, this article is for you.

Dave Taylor steps back into the gaming world as he starts us off on a quest
for Zombie Dice. I don't think we'll actually script brain-munching game
pieces, but Dave proves that story problems really were important in
school. Let's dive in and figure out the game as Dave describes how to
create it. Kyle Rankin has a game of his own this month, and that game is
security. Okay, maybe it's not a game, but it was a good segue, so I'm going
to keep it. Kyle demonstrates Tails, which is an entire Linux
distribution designed to route all traffic through the TOR network. It does
even more, but I'll let Kyle explain the rest.

I decided to open up my personal laptop a bit and explain how I use a GUI
notification system on my remote Irssi IRC program. Using Irssi in a screen
session is such an incredible way to chat that I'm unwilling to move to
another client. Unfortunately, I can't always see my terminal window when
working, so I miss important notifications. This month, I show you my
solution. Hint: it's nerdy.

Then we have Bernie Thompson back to celebrate our 20 years of Linux. You
may remember Bernie wrote in the very first issue of Linux
Journal,
comparing Linux to Windows and OS/2. In this issue, he looks at where
things have gone during the past two decades, and where things are going in
the future. Linux was cutting edge 20 years ago, and today? Still on the
forefront of technology.

Virtualization has changed the way we think of computers. As with any
incredible idea, it has evolved and even sparked new technologies like LXC,
or Linux Containers. Dirk Merkel shows us Docker this month. If you need
lightweight Linux containers, and want them to be consistent and easy to
deploy, you'll want to read this article. Dirk not only shows us the why,
but also the how.

Every system administrator needs to be familiar with the latest security-related features of Linux and the hardware it supports. Mark Doran
discusses UEFI Secure Boot this month, as it's becoming more and more
prevalent and important in our corner of the tech world. Whether you prefer
simply to disable Secure Boot or want to leverage a distribution that
supports it, Mark's article will arm you with knowledge. And like G.I. Joe
told us all those years ago, knowing is half the battle!

Last, but certainly not least, James Litton shows how to implement
two-factor authentication on Web sites and SSH servers. If you thought
implementing two-factor auth was too complicated for your own purposes,
think again. James demonstrates that with a little bit of scripting, it's
as easy as 1-2-3. (But please don't use "123" as your password, even with
two-factor auth.)

Like every other issue during the past 20 years, this one is full of tech
tips, product announcements and thought-provoking content. I've only been part of the staff
here at Linux Journal for a little less than half the past 20 years, but
I've been a reader for almost the entire 20. As a community, we've grown
more and more passionate through the past two decades, so I very much look
forward to the next 20 years—or 10,519,200 minutes, whichever you
prefer.

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